A new automated missile production conveyor system has been launched at one of the largest ammunition production plants in North Korea, KCNA reported, Ukrinform reported.
The conveyor is designed for preparing materials, manufacturing all components and equipment of missiles. It can also perform precision machining, measuring and assembling of parts. All this significantly improves the quality of missile production.
The location of the facility is currently unknown, but South Korean experts believe it is located in Chagang Province, near the border between North Korea and China, as that is where all of North Korea's munitions factories are located.
The new assembly line was launched in the presence of the country's leader Kim Jong-un, who called this event the most important strategic success in the military industry in the last five years.
It is unclear whether the new conveyor was built by North Korean specialists, or whether its components were obtained from another country and then assembled on site.
South Korean and allied intelligence agencies have long suspected that the country could have obtained these and other technologies from Russia. No details of the system have been released, including how many missiles can be produced on such a conveyor.
In July 2025, the head of the GUR of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, Kirill Budanov, stated that North Korea supplies up to 40% of Russia's ammunition for the war in Ukraine. According to him, the Kim Jong-un regime also supplies other weapons to the Russian Federation, including ballistic missiles and artillery systems.
In exchange, Russia provides North Korea with money and technology, helping to ease Pyongyang's international isolation.